Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro has defended midfielder Kabelo Dlamini following his less than impressive display in their 4-1 loss to Mamelodi Sundowns on Saturday.
Dlamini was deployed in a deeper midfield role in the top of the table clash at Loft Versfeld, alongside Makhehleni Makhaula, after Thalente Mbatha suffered an injury in the days leading to the match.
It is was not the usual position Dlamini plays in, as he features in an advanced role most of the time, and he struggled to get going, losing possession 20 times, with some of those turnovers proving costly as Sundowns scored from them, including their second goal, netted by Lucas Ribeiro.
Riveiro sees no problems with Dlamini
However, Riveiro is of the view that Dlamini, just the rest of the team, had a bad game and the result should not be used against him as he has been impressive this season.
“I don’t think so [if it was a mistake], Kabelo was helping us a lot on the ball, always giving us extra time on the ball to get organised, in the second half, he was the one giving us balance in midfield,” said Riveiro.
“Even in our rest defence, winning duels, helping the centre-backs, sometimes our eyes [tell us] Makhaula is more defensive and Kabelo is more offensive, but in this team, everyone is defending when we don’t have the ball and we all try to attack, even Makhaula.
What are the midfielder’s numbers like?
“Recently you can see the evolution of him as an offensive player when we’re on the ball – so we played with two players who have experience and quality. Dlamini’s numbers in the league is top in every aspect, you should have a look.
“But sometimes our eyes are telling us things that aren’t totally true, we just want to confirm what we think about one player, even though the player is doing something totally different.”
Dlamini has been used in a deeper role when Pirates want to go all out, or as a No.10 with Mbatha and Makhaula behind him, weighing in with two goals and seven assists in 27 matches across all competitions.
However, with Mbatha absent, Riveiro tried to give him more defensive responsibilities in a top game but he struggled against the high-pressing Sundowns, leading to a number of costly errors.
